Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s weakness for grandiloquence can get the better of him.

“Make no mistake, at the end of the day, Canada and the US will always remain each other’s most essential partner,” Trudeau said during his day trip to Washington on February 13 to meet the new president and congressional leaders.

You would struggle to find anyone in Washington who would describe the Canada-US relationship in such a way. The United States categorizes the rest of the world as friends and allies, rivals and enemies — but rarely as partners, never mind essential ones. That would imply equivalency, and there is room for only one beacon on the hill. By grasping, Trudeau weakened what was otherwise a good showing in his first face-to-face encounter with the enemies of his world view.